Main historical milestones
Electricity has been produced, distributed and sold in Helsinki since the end of the 19th century.
The electricity works of the early days obtained energy from a number of small coal-fired power plants, often located close to densely built areas. Reference to the environmental friendliness of fuels was part of the licence terms for electricity works already in the early stages.
1877 - 1909
The first electric lighting test in Finland was carried out in the machine workshop of the Finnish national railway company in Helsinki on 10 December 1877.
Daniel Johannes Wadén established the first electricity company in Helsinki in 1884. No extensive electricity network was built straight away, but electricity was distributed from separate substations for each district. At the turn of the 20th century, there were more than 30 electricity producers in Helsinki, generating electricity mainly for lighting purposes. These small substations are also the roots of Helsingin Energia.
In 1907, Helsinki City Council decided to build a steam power plant on the headland of Sörnäinen. It was decided to transfer the power obtained from there to a substation to be built near Erottaja.
In 1909, after long consideration, the numerous small electricity companies in Helsinki were transferred to the ownership of the City, and the electricity works of the City of Helsinki was established. The reasons for bringing the operations under municipal ownership were both legal and economical, and safety factors also played a part.
1910 - 1945 Light to the city
The exhibition of the electricity works was opened in late 1909 in a new administration building at the corner of Pieni Roobertinkatu and Kasarmikatu. It exhibited ‘feet warmers and other heat radiators, irons, coffeepots, lamps, and other electrical equipment’. The advisory service on domestic appliances, currently named the Energy Advisory Centre, therefore has a long tradition behind it.
Street lighting tests began in Helsinki in autumn 1910 by switching on the test lights for a few days in Rautatientori and Kasarmintori. Based on the positive experiences, two streets named Heikinkatu (currently the beginning of Mannerheimintie) were equipped with electric street lighting on 16 September 1911. This important event is regarded to signify the beginning of street lighting in Helsinki.
In 1945, demand for electricity increased to a great extent after the end of the Continuation War as it was only then that part of the wartime demand for electrical energy could be discharged. It was impossible to carry on using cumbersome logs, and the only realistic alternative was steam power production based on coal and oil.
The idyllic shoreline of Hanasaari and Sörnäinen in the 1950s before the construction of the A power plant.
1953 - 1960 District heating is developed
In autumn 1953, it was the task of the electrical works to also start producing district heating after the approval of the City Council. The new power plant, Salmisaari A, was commissioned in the same year.
In 1957, water district heating was introduced when the first customer, the Helsinki Culinary School at Perhonkatu 11, was connected to water district heating on 14 August.
Combined heat and power production began in Hanasaari on 18 October 1960. The Hanasaari A power plant was also commissioned in the same year. More power plant output was constantly required, and Hanasaari was built 14 years later.
1970 - 1980 Sähkötalo is opened
Professor Alvar Aalto was commissioned to design the new Sähkötalo building in Kamppi, and after many difficulties, the building was eventually opened to the public on 22 January 1973.
In 1984, the Salmisaari B power plant was founded to meet the need for energy and power in Helsinki in the mid-1980s. Three years later, in 1987, the desulphurisation plant in Salmisaari was taken into use.
1990 Natural gas introduced
In 1991, the Vuosaari A power plant and the Hanasaari desulphurisation plant began operation. In 1995, the Helsinki Energy Board became a municipal corporation with the new name of Helsingin Energia.
A significant change took place in 1995 when the Electricity Market Act entered into force on 1 June and electricity sales were deregulated. In 1998, also household and small enterprises were brought within the scope of electricity competition.
In 1997, a new era began at Helsingin Energia with the completion of the Vuosaari B power plant: as a result of the new power plant, half of the electricity and district heat in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is produced by natural gas. Natural gas had already been used in Helsinki since the Vuosaari A power plant was taken into use in 1991.